Spring Mini Donuts

Who doesn’t love donuts??? I’m a firm believer that a donut a day keeps the gloom away:) Some people spell it doughnuts, I use donuts. Either way, these are amazingly delicious.

Technically spring has arrived so I thought it was a perfect time for mini pink donuts delights. Not your ordinary donut with a hint of orange zest. The only problem would be they are tiny and seemingly harmless. So be careful not to eat them all in one sitting like I did :) Ouch…okay skipping dinner.

Makes about 2 dozen mini donuts

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

6 cups vegetable oil

Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 6 tablespoons hot water

DIRECTIONS for donuts:

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, sour cream, melted butter, vanilla, and orange zest..
Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the eggs and granulated sugar together on high-speed until the mixture doubles in volume and is thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes.
Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the liquid ingredients, stopping the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on low-speed, add the dry ingredients in additions, mixing until they are completely incorporated into the dough. The finished dough will be smooth and sticky.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough into the clean bowl.
Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 3/8″ thick sheet. Use a 1 1/2″ round cookie cutter to stamp out as many rounds as you can from the dough. Use a 1/2″ round cookie cutter to stamp a small round from the center of each larger one. (you can use these as donuts holes so don’t throw them away!)
In a large pot, heat the oil to 350 degrees. Add a few donuts and fry them until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute total. Note: do not overcrowd the pot with donuts!
Use a frying spider to transfer the donuts to a paper-towel lined plate, an d set aside. Repeat with the remaining donuts. Let the donuts cool, then dip in the glaze.

DIRECTIONS for glaze:

Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Color the glaze if you’d like, then dip the donuts and add sprinkles.

REMEMBER EAT SOMETHING SWEET EVERY DAY!